my schooling from another century 
… it was known as Religious Instruction (RI) but many of us were “excused”… I took extra music lessons instead.
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In truth he can make as many pointless announcements as he likes, Education is in the same underfunded, demoralized state as the NHS, teachers are highly likely to be the next group of workers to strike, head teachers too.
I’m sure the Army wants a whole lot of stroppy teenagers who don’t want to be there.
I know two people who did National Service - my dad, who did his in the UK in the 1950’s and felt it was a complete waste of time and a French programmer that I used to work with who did his in the 1990’s (I think, I worked with him in the early 2000’s) and felt that it was an utter waste of time.
There will be many reports/stories… with different angles… some good, some bad.
I know of 1 definite WIN…
After several fraught years, an absolutely objectionable young lad thankfully went out of our lives… and we breathed a sigh of relief.
Next time we met… a few years later… he was a changed person. Polite and respectful of property… model citizen.
I watched him as he chatted with some youngsters… finally showing them how to park their bikes carefully, avoiding the flowers (which they usually wrecked without thinking…).
He saw me and strode over to introduce himself… wow… it was a real pleasure to greet him and we laughed together as we recalled his “wild youth”.
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Yep, Religious Instruction for me too Stella. Our teacher was an ageing Welshman who was obsessed with Ur of the Chaldees.
I have a friend who has this problem with facial recognition too.
RE and PE when I was at school in London in the 1960s and 70s.
The same place that all these Brits are going to become suddenly very keen to work in agriculture, horticulture and packing sheds.
I’m sure that some will find it beneficial, probably the odd one signs up long term.
But in a world with voluntary membership of the armed forces I think they really struggle to know what to do with people who don’t want a career in the army/navy/air force and are only there for one or two years.
Spot on. The Army always says, “Don’t give them to us!”
However,
This is an excellent idea but would require a whole new organisation….
Since councils closed all the recreation facilities, pools, gyms, even libraries, the young folk need some directed focus, incentive, learning opportunities and social responsibility that a new Youth Corp could provide.
I think I was in the first group to avoid National Service, and was thankful for that too, I had other plans for my life at that point.
Regarding the RK/RE/RI debate, the last of my 3 junior schools was a C of E one, as was my boarding secondary school. Of course there was a brief religious morning assembly but other than that it was being required, under pain of punishment, to attend at least one Sunday service each week, that set it apart. The choice was left to us and that was the only reminder of the school’s ethos that I remember. Not the whole school was boarding, there were plenty of day boys, so I assume that they did not have the same complusion.
I am totally against faith schools of any kind and would have objected then if I had thought about it, but perhaps I can take comfort from the fact that we were given knowledge rather than education or instruction. 
Seems 1 in 50 people, possibly more.
I have exactly the same issue, especially with people. I have huge issues remembering peoples names, but I can literally meet a person just once and then see them again years later and instantly recognise them, and tell them where and when we met.
Edit: there are a few notable exceptions to this. Why ?. It’s all in the name. One notable exception is a guy who was a rep for a large electrical connector company (can’t remember the companies name 
) who I met perhaps three times over 25 years ago. His name was Noah Smallshorts 
. Another guy from the same era was Yorick Phoenix.
Not sure than @Stella is saying she has an issue with facial recognition. Sounds as if, like me, it’s just name association that is an issue. Remembering the face, and associating it with a place or time or other information is just fine. With me, the recognition (with the exception of the face) is probably much better than average.
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Yes.
Legal precedents are frequently chosen because of their memorable names (though perhaps sometimes the facts make the names memorable, Donoghue v Stevenson 
).
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Who ?
… and only 50% of the hospital beds we have in France.
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Ah that’s something at which I do excel… facial recog… I can recognize someone after years and years…
and show me a picture of a restaurant and I’ll tell you what we eat there and who we were with etc etc… no matter how long ago… but the name of the place??? not a chance…
One oddity, with TV/Films etc I will often remember the “name of the part”…
Recently, I bellowed out to a startled OH… surely that’s “James Bond” and, sure enough, it was.
Daniel Craig at about 20… long hair and very, very different…
and add to that a PM and Health Secretary who don’t give a flying fuck about the NHS 
“Crisis? What crisis” - “The NHS has all the money it needs” 
Absolute bastards!
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Exactly the same as me. It’s bizarre isn’t it 
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